Do you need new tires?

[LDB]

Some of the ways to tell if you do or not.

https://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/7-easy-ways-to-tell-if-you-need-to-buy-new-tires.html

 

[nwjones18]

I've got fresh rubber on all 4 of my rides currently. Should be in good shape for another 6-8yrs.. I only drive my cars 5-8k miles a year and tires tend to age out prior to wearing out.. I also think an off brand new tire is generally better than an aged top-tier tire. I had a set of very nice Continentals with around 50% tread that were 6-7years old on my Mazda and it was hard to take off quickly without spinning the tires. Fresh set of no name tires have much more grip in the dry and wet.

 

[BHopkins]

The 7 points outlined in the article are sound. Perhaps #7, less so.

Good advice to the novice at car maintenance. It might be real good information for someone who is unsure if a shop is trying to sell them something they don't need.

 

[Tundragod]

Yes

 

[wavinwayne]

The first thing in the list is how I decide when tires need replacing (tread wear indicators). My tires never get old enough to replace based on age alone.

 

[supton]

Said nothing about belts poking through, so it's not a complete list.

I have a gauge (somewhere, it keeps wandering off) and usually replace at 4/32's. Most of the tires I've had, I can tell that there is a loss in water traction around there, so I aim for shopping for replacements then. I drive enough that tires don't age out on me.

I've got fresh rubber on all 4 of my rides currently. Should be in good shape for another 6-8yrs.. I only drive my cars 5-8k miles a year and tires tend to age out prior to wearing out.. I also think an off brand new tire is generally better than an aged top-tier tire. I had a set of very nice Continentals with around 50% tread that were 6-7years old on my Mazda and it was hard to take off quickly without spinning the tires. Fresh set of no name tires have much more grip in the dry and wet.

There was a test a few years ago where (I don't recall who did it) they tested like 3 big name tires against a Chinese "no name" tire. With all their tread the big name tires did the best. Shaved down though and the new Chinese tire outperformed the worn tires in wet conditions--I don't recall if they shaved to 4/32's or down to 2/32's but regardless, their point was, new junky tires with full tread are better than worn out tires. Might sound like a duh statement but as your data points out, dried out tires might fall into the same category of "worn out" despite still having tread.

 

[LDB]

I had a tread depth gauge that I think vanished with the ex. Now I just use a quarter. Used to be a penny which is basically the 2/32 gauge and a quarter is a 4/32 gauge. Yeah, there's maybe a bit left using a quarter, or an actual gauge reading 4/32, but I like being safe and alive. I'm worth it.

 

[Patman]

For me it’s 7 years or when the cords are showing, whichever comes first

 

[barkingspider]

I try to use the wear indicators/bars on the tire to say when

 

[nwjones18]

For me it’s 7 years or when the cords are showing, whichever comes first

My standard is 7yrs on a "good car" 10 years on a beater and I won't let them go past the wear bars.. haha

 

[Patman]

My standard is 7yrs on a "good car" 10 years on a beater and I won't let them go past the wear bars.. haha

I’m at just over 7 on the original back tires on the Vette so they have reached their time limit. They actually still have some tread left even with 106,000 km on them!! The fronts wore out prematurely at 53,000 km because of a bad factory alignment. One day I looked under the front of the car and saw that the cords were actually showing on the inside!